This week on “Brainiac’s History Mystery Theater” we present, “That Time the Beach Boys Played a Parking Lot Show in Garden Grove.”

You haven’t seen this episode already, have you? OK, good. Here’s the deal then.

We were poking around online, doing a little research into the end of the Beach Boys’ 50th anniversary year – it started a year ago, making this the Endless Anniversary – when we stumbled onto a fascinating little nugget of local lore, an item that’s tantalizingly hard to pin down. A challenge, in other words, and there’s nothing Brainiac likes better.

On a website that claims to have the most comprehensive listing of Beach Boys gigs, we were happy to see a few Orange County dates in 1962, the year their career took off, including to Brainiac’s delight an appearance at Leonards Department Store in Garden Grove.

That’s right.

We might not have the beach in Garden Grove, Westminster or Midway City, but back when it mattered, we had the Beach Boys. But what more could we figure out about this special moment on Nov. 3, 1962, just a few months after the group’s debut single, “Surfin’ Safari,” and then the album of the same name?

The Register archives weren’t much help. Apparently covering young whippersnappers, like the Pendleton and jeans-wearing Beach Boys, wasn’t something that made the paper back then. So while we found a few pages of advertisements for Leonards big grand-opening celebration – including a “Dobie Gillis” sweatshirt, “the shirt everyone has gone ape for,” marked down from $2.95 to $1 – the ad only promised appearances by “celebrities,” no names listed.

Back to the web mines where we quickly dug up an article from the Torrance Press that mentioned the Beach Boys – and children’s TV host Engineer Bill – would be guests at that city’s Leonards’ grand opening, with Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, as well as Mike Love and David Marks there for a 45-minute appearance. Poked around a little further and we came up with an eBay sales listing of a “Surfin’ Safari” album that the seller mentioned he got all five Beach Boys to sign at a Leonards appearance in Garden Grove.

So, we’re pretty sure by now that the Beach Boys did stop by the department store located 12891 Harbor Blvd (there’s a Latino-oriented supermarket there today) just north of Garden Grove Boulevard on the first Saturday in November 1962.

Case closed, right?

That’s what we thought until one last dip into the data mine found an entry on OCThen.com asking about a Beach Boys gig in Garden Grove. Had to be the same Leonards gig, right? But nope, folks there were talking about a different Beach Boys gig in Garden Grove, one that doesn’t show up in any concert listing we can find.

Here are the details on the mystery show: According to multiple folks, the Boys played in front of Denno’s Records in the parking lot of the Orange County Plaza shopping center, almost four miles from the Leonards store in the 9700 block of Chapman Avenue near Brookhurst Street. They drove up in Corvettes, and maybe a Jaguar. They were wearing the Pendleton shirt-jackets they favored at the start. There was a raised platform on the asphalt for a stage. And they signed autographs on albums and singles.

So what gives? Did the Beach Boys make two appearances in our fair Garden Grove in the first few months of their stardom? We’re confident they were at Leonards, and pretty sure they were at Orange County Plaza, too. But what do any of you remember?

Write us with any thoughts on the Beach Boys in Garden Grove, or any questions and story tips about Garden Grove, Westminster and Midway City. Your humble servant Brainiac can be reached at Brainiac@ocregister.com or 714-796-7787.

The Beach Boys shown from left to right are Mike Love, Al Jardine, Brian Wilson, Carl Wilson and Dennis Wilson in the early '60s ASSOCIATED PRESS
This is what the Orange County Plaza shopping center on Chapman Avenue near Brookhurst Street looked like in 1957 a few years before the Beach Boys supposedly played a short concert and signed autographs in the parking lot outside a record shop there. The Regal Garden Grove Stadium 16 cinemas are located there today. PHOTO COURTESY ORANGE COUNTY ARCHIVES
The Beach Boys shown from left to right are Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, Mike Love, Brian Wilson and Carl Wilson in the early 1960s. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Beach Boys are shown in this 1966 photo. The group includes three brothers, a cousin and an honorary relative. Left to right top: Mike Love, Brian Wilson and Carl Wilson. Bottom, Al Jardine and Dennis Wilson. ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Beach Boys perform during their 50th anniversary tour stop at Irvine's Verizon Wireless Amphitheater on June 3, 2012. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Original members of The Beach Boys, from left, Mike Love, David Marks, Brian Wilson, Bruce Johnston and Al Jardine appear onstage during ABC's "Good Morning America" summer concert series on June 15, 2012, in New York. JASON DECROW, JASON DECROW/INVISION/AP
This grocery store is located today where Leonards department store was when the Beach Boys made an appearance there in November 1962. PETER LARSEN, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.